Curosities...

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

Reading on the disney cruise website- just trying to glean as much info as I can (bored actually- since this board was down for awhile... was having withdrawals LOL) and read some stuff I'm curious about.
From the website:

Can coolers and/or food items be brought onboard?
Coolers are not permitted except for those needed for medications, baby food, or items related to dietary constraints. Items must be pre-packaged, un-opened, and do NOT require any food prep from the kitchen. Coolers filled with personal items (e.g. soda, chips, candy, etc.) may NOT be brought onboard. Homemade items or pre-cooked items purchased on the way to the ship will not be allowed to be brought aboard. Also, open bags or containers of snack items should not be brought aboard ship. All items will need to be stored in the stateroom. The ship's storage and/or refrigeration is not available to use.

Question #1-Is this saying you can't bring ANY soda/chips/etc. on board? Or is it just specifically can't be a cooler filled with those items? And if that is the case- why? Are they trying to avoid big coolers brought on- that's the offensive item and not the "personal items" they list out there?

Question #2 -It also says the kids clubs are open 9am to midnight. I have read here that it's open till 1am- which is it? I'm inclined to go with Disney's official website- but why is there a discrepency in what is there and what I've read here MANY times as to what time the clubs close?

Also I find it OFFENSIVE (yes, that's right... downright offensive LOL) that bottled water costs even in the dining rooms at meals- yet sodas and everything else besides alcoholic drinks are free. Water surely can't cost more than all of those items- soda, tea, milk, fruit juice, coffee? So basically you're stuck drinking tap water the entire time if you are a big water drinker like I am (like my family is). I'm on Atkins- and I drink a ton of water per day (almost literally LOL I'm addicted to water now....and I retain water like you wouldn't believe on days I don't drink as much water!) -as does my husband also Atkins, and my children drink more now too...
Question #4- is the tap water nasty tasting? We did fine at WDW with taking some bottled water and just filling it up at water fountains or asking for glasses of water at the counter service restaurants and such- didn't taste bad to us. But have no idea how it will taste/etc. on the ship? There's no way I want to pay a HUGE bill for bottled water for 7 days for all 5 of us as heavy water drinkers as we are! That's so unfair... could ATLEAST let bottled water be free during dinner meals.... geesh. I figured we'd fill up water bottles during the cruise & pay for bottled water at ports of call- but I did not expect to have to pay for water at dinner when all other drinks except alcohol are free? So I can drink junk like soda orjuice/coffee/tea/milk free... but water at dinner is going to cost me?... ugh... LOL

Listed on a totally seperate page is information showing a chart about where you would be charged for certain beverages, and where some might be free, etc. But on the page "before you leave" it says:

What's already included in the basic price?
On board, your vacation package price includes almost everything - from your stateroom itself to snacks and ice cream, to breakfast, lunch and dinner every day. All the onboard programming and entertainment are included. While you're sailing, there are only a few things that will require an additional charge; for example: spa or salon visits, phone calls, photos, video games, internet usage, soft drinks (other than those served with breakfast, lunch or dinner) and all alcoholic beverages. If you're not sure whether something is included, just call us or ask your Travel Agent.

Notice how it says everything is included except what they have listed- well actually it says "for example" so that would leave you to believe there might be more things not listed- but most people reading that will think everything is included BUT FOR what is listed there... and they only list soft drinks (other than those at B/L/D) and alcoholic beverages. I read on the trips cruise report forum where one couple was surprised with $40 bill from smoothies from one dinner meal for their children (ie: non-alcoholic drinks). Not only were they told about this at the time of it being offered and the children choosing that as their drink... but where is that listed above as not included in the price? It's not a soda, it's served at dinner anyway, and it's not an alcoholic drink.
??

Just to get this straight (btw- I agree with others that have said I'd rather pay a little more per person than mess with this charging for sodas. I've been in restaurant mgmt for many years in my life- I KNOW how cheap soda is... that's why fast food restaurants can afford to have self-serve free refills on sodas! LOL)---
Question #5- if the children are in the clubs/labs during a meal that they go to the buffet with the club- how are their drinks handled there? That's not a sitdown restaurant- but what if it was dinner? Do they charge the child's KTTW if they ask for a soda as their drink? I know they can't have bottled water- they'd get charged for that in ANY case apparently. LOL What if their card is made to have NO charging privileges? Then what do the children drink there at the buffet eating with the club/counselors?

Just trying to get all this drink thing straightened out ahead of time- I will be mighty upset to end up with a huge bill for sodas or water- when we can just be informed ahead of time to drink something else! (hoping tap water CAN be served at dinners and hoping it is safe/tastes okay to drink! LOL I'd hate to be FORCED to drink other stuff...)

 

[houseofmouse]

I will assume you are going on the Magic, for my answers:

#1, although I did not do this, I did see others with a case of bottled water and a case of soda as we were standing in line to board. I did not see anyone advising them they could not take it aboard.

#2 The Oceaneers kids club hrs varies from day to day usually 9a - 12a in port and 9a - 1a at sea.

#3 The water on the ship is drinkable especially if you do not want to pay for bottled water. Tip: bring a Brita filtered water bottle ($6.95 at Walmart)on board and refill as needed.

#4 Also any "fancy" drinks as I call them...smoothies, shirley temples...ect are at a cost to you no matter where you are served them.
Soda is ONLY free at your assigned dinner resturant. At the buffet lunches and dinners there is juice,iced and hot tea,coffee,plain milk, included with your meal-no soda.

#5 The Oceaneer kids are taken to the buffets for lunch and dinner usually, or else to a resturant not in use at the time and they are given a choice of food and drinks, items that cost additional are not offered.

Final tip, you can always buy the soda mug for $25 (last I bought) and get it refilled with soda for free for the entire cruise. But it doesn't sound like you are big soda drinkers.(good for you I wish my DH would convert to H2O)


Hope I helped.

I'm with you though, charge me a little more money and forget the drink hassel!!

 

[jwann]

I agree with all of houseofmouse's responses but one -
we had shirley temples in the dining rooms during our cruise and were not charged

 

[Mom of 4 Princesses]

We were not charged for shirley temples either. We had them for the kids at dinner and also in the "night clubs".

I'll go out on a limb here--be prepared for you final bill! We were 2 adults and 4 kids and my final total was $2700!!! OUCH

LOTS of pictures from Shutters, but all the rest was alcohol, spa, and some shopping. Oh, don't let me forget the arcade! This also included our tips.

 

[Scratch42]

You can buy one from DCL for $30.00 per case!

I hear that they have a water dispenser on Deck 9 Soda area. It's suppose to be drinkable.

The Shirley Temples better be free 'cause already promised DD she could have them during dinner!LOL

Scratch

 

[natdencro]

Fresh, cold tap water(free) is served constantly with meals in the dining roooms - to rehydrate you in the hot climate. We have never had any ill effects from drinking GALLONS of it! We dont believe in wasting hard-earned money on bottles of water: we would rather spend it on other Disney goodies! We also drank the water in the stateroom - and again - had no problems. Nat

 

[musicgirl]

I had water (just in a glass) at dinner all the time and was never charged.

 

[k5teacher]

You shouldn't have any problem with the water. One of the CM told us that the water is just seawater that has been desalinated and purified (distilled). You won't even need a Brita.

 

[Regina]

We don't drink smoothies, but I'd swear that they were listed in the dinner menus with their price same as the featured alcoholic drink that evening.

The beverage station on deck 9 does have cold water as well as lemonade and iced tea. As long as you don't mind heading there to refill your bottle, it's not a problem.

They're constantly refilling your water glasses in the dining room. I didn't even know that you can order bottled water instead, but there's no reason to.

 

[disneyholic family]

no time to read and respond to everything, but water served on the ship in the dining rooms is not "tap" water....it's equivalent to the distilled water you can buy in the store (e.g., Absopure distilled drinking water)....
no reason to buy water....unless you're totally into a particular taste of certain mineral waters...but they don't have those on board the ship anyway...

 

[MrsPete]

Lots of questions!

Yes, coolers may be brought on board. Many people like to bring small coolers so they can take some room service food or canned drinks off the ship to beach day-type excursions. You may not bring ICE onto the ship (which makes sense because many coolers leak).

You may bring sodas, beer, etc. onboard -- I saw plenty of people doing it. Personally, I would place them in two layers of ziplock bags and put them in my hard-sided luggage rather than haul them around myself. This is MUCH less expensive than buying the $5/day soda mugs. Or make your ressies through AAA Travel and get free mugs.

You can bring chips, etc. onboard, but there's really no need. You'll have soooo much at meals that you likely won't want much between meals. If you want between-meal snacks, you can get individual bags of chips or nachos with cheese sauce at Plutos -- or fresh fruit or cookies or ice cream at Scoops. Every afternoon they set up a cart with cookies, brownies, etc. near the drink station on Deck 9. Since you have children, and their wants/needs are sometimes less than predictable, you might want to bring along a pack of ziplock bags so you can save some goodies in your cabin.

We did bring a box of goldfish crackers onboard (because the porter who took our luggage warned us to remove ALL food from our car before parking it -- for fear of ants). Those crackers sat around all week, and no one ate them.

As for water, you can get chilled good-tasting water at the drink station on Deck 9 any time. The restaurants will serve the same stuff free. No need to bring your own, though you might want to bring a couple empty bottles so you can fill them for shore excursions. They sell cold water with carrying straps for $3.50 (?) by the door as you exit for shore excursions.

Why does bottled water cost? The packaging most likely. I'm sure the bottles cost more than bulk-purchased fountain sodas, juice, etc. When I was in college I worked in a Frito-Lay factory. Know what's the most expensive part of a bag of Doritos? The bag. Yep, it costs more than the contents. When I worked there, the contents of a large bag of Doritos cost about three cents, while the bag itself cost almost ten cents.

What's going to cost extra? Of course you expect spa treatments and shore excursions to cost something. As for foods, the list you quoted is fairly inclusive: sodas, alcoholic drinks, smoothies . . . I'd also add snacks at the movie theater (though you can bring in your own from Deck 9 if you wish) and fancy coffee drinks -- if you're into any of those.

Hint: Anyone who has been surprised with a bill at the end hasn't been paying attention. ANY TIME you charge something to your KTTW card (even something as small as a soda) the server will give you a receipt, which you must sign. If you order alcoholic drinks at dinner, the waiter will ask you to sign a receipt at the end of the meal. ANY TIME you sign something, there's a charge. If they just hand you the item and don't ask for your KTTW card, it's free (or rather, it's included in your ticket). I can see that a child might not understand that the receipt will show up on the final bill, but any adult should grasp the concept! If your children are old enough to have charging privledges, you really should explain the idea to them.

I agree that it'd be better for the customer to pay a bit more and not mess with charging for sodas, but it'll never happen. If my cruise was any indicator, the GREAT MAJORITY of the people buy the $5/day mugs. I guess people don't realize that other drinks are available free all day, or they don't understand that sodas are really cheap . . . but Disney isn't going to give up this cash cow!

If kids go to a meal with the kids' clubs, they'll be given one of the abundant free drinks: water, tea, milk, fruit punch, juice, or lemonade. They're feeding a crowd, and they can't mess with who has charging privledges or a soda mug . . . and they can't mess with explaining why Billy may have a soda but Bobby can't . . . and they can't spend their time explaining the same thing to parents. Their job is to provide child care -- not to juggle finances.

 

[kcashner]

I think you got pretty full answers....
The Club and Lab are open always till midnight, some nights till 1 am. On the last night, they close earlier. Exact hours are listed in the navigator and in the children's navigator (available for the week on the first day).

The meal times for kids in the programs are also listed in the kid's navigator. THEY ARE NOT THE SAME AS THE 2 MEAL SEATINGS. They only take the kids one time, so if you want your child to eat with their group, they have to be at the club or lab 15 minutes before the kid meal time. There are no sodas served in the buffet.

The ship's water is distilled sea water, and tastes normal to me. There was no need for bottled water. You can bring sodas, chips, any food you want on board (but why?) What you can not bring on is coolers, unless there is a medical need to bring one (you need to keep medication cold during boarding), baby food, etc. I don't know what the issue is with coolers...although I've seen people with soft side coolers for land day. If it can squish into your luggage, you can bring anything. We usually put a 6 pack of soda in our luggage because my DD likes a brand not available on the ship.

Bottled water at my gym costs $1, there is a paper cup dispenser where I can get a cup and tap water for free. That's essentially the same as on the ship. You pay for the bottle and the handling. And I can bring my own water in a bottle for free.....

There are no charges for anything in the kid program. When they do the "make a smoothie" activity, each kid participating drinks a free smoothie. WHen they do pictures with Mickey and make a frame, each kid who has a picture taken gets a free 5 X 7 of themselves with Mickey. They do not use KTTW cards in the kid's program except to sign in, and they can't get a soda on deck 9.

On the menu, smoothies are listed as a bar item with a price (about 3.50, as I recall). They are charged whenever you get them. A shirley temple was a freebie because your waiter makes that for the child...it doesn't come from the bar.

Yes, you can pay a lot for "extras" on the ship....or you can end up with a bill of a few hundred dollars. Use your own camera. The Disney personnel will even take a picture of you with a character or whatever using your own camera. Some of my pics were better than those of the ship's photographer. I bought a lot more pictures at first than I do now....hee hee. Drinks are free at the reception before the formal dinner (only the ones they carry around). Shore excursions can be booked thru Disney, but most activities can be scheduled on your own after you are in port. Do your internet homework so that you know what you want to do and how to make arrangements. Just don't pay for anything until the ship is actually in port--if you didn't book thru Disney, there is no promise that you'll get your $ back if an excursion is cancelled. We have our own snorkel equipment. If you snorkel at each port, it has paid for itself in one cruise (we don't, but we have done many cruises). An added benefit....kids can practice snorkeling in a pool before the trip.

I really don't feel that the soda package is worth the money. You'd have to drink a lot of soda to get $35 worth in a week! I just tell DD that soda outside of the dining rooms come out of her money. At $2 a pop, that stops really fast!

We frequently bring a water bottle and fill it with ice/ice water for shore activities. It doesn't last all day, but I drink a lot of water, so it is sure a help.

Did I get all the questions?????

 

[lbgraves]

I was surprised that we were able to get soda free in the dining rooms during lunch. It was not available at Topsiders.

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

You guys/gals are great!!! You answered my questions- and so much more! I really appreciate it!

I don't think my children will be given charging privileges (not till older- I don't plan to allow my just turned 11yr old to sign herself in/out either! So charging won't be necessary- I can buy arcade cards for when we do that with them)- so all that you said about the children's program is a load off my mind. I totally agree with all the same instead of having to explain why so and so gets soda and they don't, not having to deal with who has charging rights and who doesn't/etc.

Again, thanks for all your informative answers- and all the extra tips also!